Outside food at multiplexes: Confusion prevails

MIRROR TEST DRIVE: Multiplexes across the city hide behind the ‘lack of clarity’ excuse to defy the govt order that allows moviegoers to carry food from outside

Of the five big multiplexes, only two allowed Mirror reporters to bring food from outside.

Almost a month after the state government clarified that beginning August 1, moviegoers were free to carry food to multiplexes and there should be no difference in the MRP of food items sold outside and inside multiplexes, there is still no clarity, resulting in each multiplex in the city framing its own rules on the matter.

Outside food at multiplexes: Confusion prevails

02:11

This was revealed during a test drive conducted by this newspaper over the past two days, during which three of the city’s biggest multiplexes did not allow Mirror reporters to carry food to the cinema halls.

This, after Ravindra Chavan, minister of state for food and civil supplies, told the legislative assembly during the recently concluded monsoon session that the multiplex owners have been instructed to allow outside food on their premises. The minister further said the multiplexes have also been instructed to not charge exorbitant amount of money for food items.

Chavan’s statement came in the wake of the Bombay High Court pulling up the state government and the multiplexes based on a public interest litigation that people were forced to pay for food items as per the rates fixed by the multiplexes. Several multiplexes in Mumbai charge around Rs 300 for a bucket of popcorns, nearly Rs 100 for a cup of tea, and around Rs 200 for two pieces of sandwich when the same items are available for less than half the rate outside.

The Mirror test drive that covered Sterling Cineplex at Fort, Metro Inox Cinemas at Marine Lines, Regal Cinema at Colaba, PVR Odeon at Ghatkopar, and Carnival Cinemas revealed the patrons continued to be at the mercy of the multiplex owners.

At Sterling, our reporters were told to tuck in the chips and biscuits inside lunchboxes as the multiplex only allowed “ghar ka khaana” inside. At Metro, we were told that the food we had bought cannot be carried inside the theatre; we were given a choice of consuming it within the confines of the lobby. At PVR Odeon, the manager offered to keep our food in the refrigerator and “warm it for free” once the show got over.

At Carnival Cinemas, there was a board at the entrance saying outside food will not be allowed but there was no problem. The guards checking our bags stuffed with a cheeseburger and fries didn’t even bat an eyelid.

They told us outside food has been allowed at the multiplex for the past three days; it helped that the employees’ union at this multiplex is affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which is at the forefront of the fight against multiplexes overcharging the patrons.

Similarly, there was no problem at Regal, where our reporter was told that the security has been instructed to allow patrons to bring food from outside.

Lekhraj Kundhaliya, the food and beverages manager at Sterling Cineplex, told this newspaper that they started allowing “homemade food” since July 15. “Even when people have brought outside food packed in lunchboxes, we have allowed (them inside). There’s a lot of confusion regarding the matter so every multiplex’s management is free to interpret the government instructions as per its convenience,” Kundhaliya said.

MNS THREATENS ACTION

The MNS said it will soon conduct its own test drive and “teach a lesson” to those multiplexes that are refusing to fall in line. “The food and civil supplies minister has said there is no need for a special Government Resolution in this matter. Many multiplexes are still not allowing moviegoers to bring food from outside and continue to charge exorbitant prices for food items sold inside. We will conduct a check and take action MNS-style,” senior MNS leader Sandip Deshpande said.

As we were making our way inside, we were warned that the boxes containing sandwiches will not be allowed. Sure enough, the guards at the first floor told us we’ll have to leave the food outside. When we protested and told the guards about the government instruction, they called up the multiplex manager, who identified himself as Tarun Devnani. “There’s still no clarity,” Devnani claimed, “we have slashed the prices of food items at our multiplex but we are not allowing outside food till there is complete clarity on the matter.” He then offered to keep the sandwiches in the refrigerator, and as a bonus, warm those once the show got over.

While rummaging through our bag as part of the security check, the guards did not seem to even notice the bags of chips and biscuits. When we pointed out to the outside food we were carrying, a theatre official said it was no problem at all.

“Following the government instructions, we have told all our guards to not stop anyone carrying outside food. We also took down the signs where it said outside eatables not allowed,” the theatre official said.

Regal Cinema is also one of the most reasonable when it comes to in-house pricing of food times: A bucket of popcorns: Rs 70, sandwich: Rs 70, samosa: Rs 60, a packet of chips for Rs 50, coffee: Rs 40. —Mitaksh Jain

The guard at the entrance wouldn’t let us in because we were carrying packets of chips and biscuits. “Not allowed,” he said. When he didn’t budge, we demanded to speak to his supervisor, after which three men trooped out. When we told them about the government clarification issued last month that it was “illegal” for multiplexes to now allow outside food, one of them said there was “no clarity on the matter”. He hastily added that only “ghar ka khaana” was allowed inside the movie halls.

We asked him whether we will be stopped if we simply put our chips and biscuits in a tiffin box and he said we can do that. “We don’t check tiffin boxes and patrons can bring in whatever they want, provided it is packed in lunchboxes. We don’t allow packaged food,” he said.

Food prices inside the multiplex: Sterling Cineplex has leased out its ground floor to various food chains and outlets. —Linah Baliga and Payal Gwalani

We were allowed to bring in food and a water bottle from outside, even though there’s a board at the entrance saying it’s banned. Our bags were checked at the entrance, and the security officials did not even mention anything about outside food not allowed in the multiplex. When we asked the multiplex officials about the policy regarding outside food, one of them said it is being allowed for the past three days.

The multiplex has an employees’ union which is affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which is at the forefront of the fight against multiplexes charging exorbitantly for food and beverages.

Metro Inox Cinemas, Marine Lines‘Eat in the lobby, not inside the halls’TUESDAY 11.10 PM SHOW

Wwere not allowed to bring in food from outside. We told the multiplex officials that the state government has clearly said patrons must be allowed to bring in food to multiplexes, an official politely told us to consume the food in the lobby.

“We have been told a court hearing on the matter is scheduled on August 8. Until we get complete clarity on the matter, we request our patrons to not bring food from outside,” the Metro Inox official said.